Kimkim Trip Reviews for Portugal

Tiago did an excellent job both planning our trip and helping us to navigate. He provided a comprehensive and well organized document, complete with links, that described our itinerary, recommended points of interest and gave useful information on accommodations. He also included other useful resources, such as advice on driving in Portugal.

Tiago was most responsive during our trip when we had questions. Prior to and during our trip, Tiago would promptly respond when we contacted him. He contacted us immediately I’ll arrival and greeted us at the airport. Prior to picking up our car rental, Tiago drove us to our hotel, showed us some sights along the way, and showed us where to lock up our rental car. He also picked us up the following evening to bring us to two of our planned events. When one of our events had to be rescheduled, he most effectively integrated it into our next day’s itinerary.

The trip that Tiago planned was excellent. Every accommodation he selected exceeded our expectations. Also, he recommended that we go off the beaten path and visit Évora. This city was a highlight of the trip.

We really enjoyed working with Tiago and would most defiant key recommend him to anyone visiting Portugal.

Marina planned the most amazing trip to Portugal! The hotels and all the tours/excursions were amazing! Will 100% use her and KimKim again for future travel!!

We reviewed the guides, the hotels, and the itineraries every day with Pedro so refer to him. Generally speaking, the guides were very good and professional and spoke English quite well. The drivers were always punctual, well dressed, spoke English well and drove us to our destinations in E- class Mercedes. Certainly, kudos to the drivers. Although we had 4-star hotels, a couple of hotels were a little disappointing. They didn't have wash cloths, they didn't have tissues, the final hotel, the Villa Galé Cascais, didn't have an iron or an ironing board, suggesting we use their laundry service and they wanted to charge for the safety deposit box. Power went out in the room, but was corrected within 10 minutes. The hotel in Porto was good, but the safe deposit instructions were confusing. They need to get a simpler safe deposit box like other hotels. All in all, the hotels were good and the breakfasts were great! The itinerary that Pedro did for us was comprehensive and we saw a lot of the important cities and places of Portugal. Pedro acceded to our requests to change the times of pickup by the drivers to modify our itinerary and is trying to get us a refund for the Pena Palace which we paid for twice due to the Palace not honoring our tickets on a day when the palace was closed due to fires raging in Portugal. That was stupid. They wanted us to go online to request a refund instead of simply replacing our tickets with new tickets. There was constant contact from Pedro to confirm what each upcoming activity was, the driver's name and WhatsApp # and the time of pickup at our hotels. We had constant communication texting both ways. This was excellent. We reviewed everything from each day's activities for him. The walking tour in Porto was a bit redundant and and we could have done without the honey and chocolate tasting tour. It fell short and felt like a time filler. Yet, we loved Porto. In contrast to all the churches, monasteries, palaces, and other historical places, we loved the nature hiking tour in Serra da Estrela and the follow up picnic. The walking tour in Évora was also quite good.

Hotel Reviews

Lagos Avenida Hotel

Lagos

Great location, excellent breakfast, very attentive reception and staff, rooftop pool w/bar.

Authenticity & Character

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location

Staff

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleanliness & Comfort

Évora Olive Hotel

Évora

Very good location, great breakfasts!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Octant Hotels Palácio da Lousã

Lousã

This hotel was beautiful. The reception was great. The hotel was designed beautifully. The rooms were comfortable and the breakfast was amazing. The manager greeted everyone personally in the dining area during breakfast. And, they gave us hats to take away with us. What a nice touch. The only thing that out tour planner didn't anticipate was to arrange a dinner reservation when we arrived. They were fully booked for reservations and we would have loved to have dined there.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hike & Bite with Peaks, Paths, and a Delicious Picnic in Serra da Estrela

Serra da Estrela Nature Park

Our guide was well versed in the terrain, pointing out vegetation as well as geological formations. He spoke well in English and made the hike go smoothly. He topped it off with a "picnic" which was a full lunch. This activity, in contrast to the churches and other historical places, was a highlight of the trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Seamless Discovery - The Ultimate Douro Valley Experience with Private Driver Service

Portugal

The driver added personal history to enhance the trip. He grew up here and related what he did on his family's farm.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Unveil the Fairytale Villa of Sintra with a Private Driver Service

Portugal

Driver was excellent with knowledge of the area. He pointed to things we should try. Not his fault, the Pena Palace was closed due to fires in the area.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wanting a stress free anniversary trip, we booked with Marina. It was smooth sailing until we got the documents 1-1/2 weeks before the trip and had to make changes. Marina had us in for a 10am food tour when we were flying in at 7am. The original plan was for a dinner food tour. She also had us in for a car rental on a day we couldn’t pick it up. We needed to have payments refunded for these 2 services, and the refund was 1/2 what you see as the retail rate. The lack of transparency with KimKim pricing meant that we didn’t know what we actually paid, or if the refund was a fair amount. Marina said it was.
After flying overnight with little sleep, we arrive at the airport at 7am and the private airport transfer to our hotel didn’t show up.. After an hour wait, we took a cab. Marina said they thought we were arriving close to noon, not sure why they would think that. Again, we were reimbursed for a private car at the same rate as a public cab That didn’t make sense to us as we could have just grabbed a cab to begin with. Why book a private transfer?
We had a lovely Jeep tour with Natascha to Set Cidades. Unfortunately it was foggy at the top of the crater, but we saw the blue and green lakes, and had a nice time with her. She was personable and informative.
We had a great day with Wilson, our guide for a 5 hour hike up to Lagos de Fogo. The picnic lunch was a bit meager, but we discovered these fabulous little cakes called quejadas, and then went to the shop in Villa Franco do Compo to eat more of them with some cappuccino. We also went to a swimming hole and drove along the coast on the way back to our hotel.
Our tour to Furnas with Paulo was very good, but he picked us up 25 minutes late. After our no-show driver experience at the airport, we were afraid that he wouldn’t come at all. It would have been great if he phoned our hotel to say that he was running late. However, Paulo was terrific, knowledgeable, and personable. We had a dinner of cozida in Furnas, and went to the the Ponca da Beira hot springs which were very relaxing.
Friday was our anniversary and Marina had booked us a table about 2 months ago, at our request, at the Associacao Agricola. When we arrived, they didn’t have our reservation! We were pretty upset as the restaurant was jammed. The maitre de took pity on us (it was our anniversary!) and we got a table after about a 1/2 hour wait. It would have been good if Marina confirmed the reservation a few days before the actual date.
All in all it was a lovely vacation but not stress free. We would have appreciated the itinerary a month before (as the original documents said) so that we weren’t going back and forth about arrangements and refunds days before we traveled, more fee transparency, and confirmation of our bookings so that we didn’t have to deal with no shows and back up plans.

Hotel Review

Octant Ponta Delgada

Ponta Delgada

The hotel staff was wonderful, very helpful and accommodating and there were plenty of them at any given time. The buffet breakfast was outstanding.

Authenticity & Character

Could have been a hotel anywhere in the world.

Location

On the harbor, a little bit of a walk into town.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Night Hot Springs in Furnas

São Miguel Island

Paolo was a wonderful guide, setting the tone for a van full of strangers to have a good time together. He knows the island so well and shared his own story and knowledge generously. Dinner was great, the hot tubs were lovely. The only suggestion: he picked us up late, and could have called ahead to tell us that. Also, there were about 8 of us. After a private tours, we weren’t expecting 8 in a van. The drops offs at other hotels made it a longer night. But, the other folks were great company.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hike Adventure to Lagoa do Fogo

São Miguel Island

Wilson was a quiet and competent guide. He took this at our pace, which is great because it was quite a climb! He offered some history and local context. The picnic lunch was meager and we carried it up ourselves. Somehow I was expecting more. Wilson was flexible in how we spent the rest of the day and we visited coastal towns. We were tired and happy at the end of the day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sete Ciudades Jeep Adventure

São Miguel Island

Natacha was wonderful. Too bad it was foggy, but that is not her fault!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I know some people who plan trips on their own and feel travel agents don't add value. I have to say that Marta and Karin proved their worth as travel agents every step of the way. it was easy to message them during the planning process. They figured out pretty quickly what kind of hotels I liked. They provided a very nice mixture of activities (in city food and cultural tours, hikes, day trips to surrounding areas, kayaking etc.). Every detail of the trip was planned perfectly. Having drivers already scheduled and ready to go saved us so much time and were hassle free. The app they used to store all of our travel plans was fabulous. During our trip, they were available by phone or by chat. Everything went off without a hitch. Our tour guide in Porto, Tommy, was entertaining, friendly and knowledgable. Our hiking guide Carlos, who to us to Peneda-Geres National Park was so knowledgable about nature. Bernardo our guide to our Sintra day hike was great! Ana-Luisa, our food and cultural tour guide in Madeira was fabulous too! Luis who led our kayaking snorkeling adventure was great too. Thanks for a fabulous trip. We can't wait to use you again when we travel to Spain!!!

Hotel Reviews

Reid's Palace, A Belmond Hotel, Madeira

Funchal, Madeira

What can I say other than it was like I died and went to heaven. This hotel is soooooooo gorgeous. They were also very accommodating at this hotel and very attentive to service. We had an early flight to Madeira so we arrived at our hotel around 9:30am. They sent us to have a fabulous breakfast by the pool while we were waiting for our room. They were able to get us in our room by 11am. They also let us have a late check out on our last day of 1:30pm. I know these sound like small things but when you only have two days in Madeira, you want to maximize. The entire facility was gorgeous. It is set on a cliffside over looking the ocean. The rooms weren't spacious but so gorgeously decorated. Lovely gifts were left in the room, like a travel journal, a beach bag and a water bottle. They had two pools, a salt water and a chlorine pool. They were both large and gorgeous. The vegetation on the property was gorgeous. They breakfasts, which were included were fab. They had plenty of outdoor shaded seating for breakfast and lunch. The William, which is a one Michelin star restaurant was top notch. There was a deck down by the ocean, which you need to take a long stair case to reach. That was absolutely a gorgeous place to just to lounge!~ and watch the ocean and listen to the surf. This is such a special place! I can't wait to return!

Authenticity & Character

This is a renovated mansion. They kept photos and details of a previous area. You definitely felt you were at a very special place.

Location

Set on a cliff overlooking the ocean with absolute gorgeous views!

Staff

Attention to every detail and sooooooo polite and lovely!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Perfection!

The Yeatman Hotel

Vila Nova de Gaia

This is a first rate hotel. We would go back again and take advantage of the World of Wine tour. We didn't have time this time around. The only issue with this hotel is it is about a 17 minute cab ride to most places. Ideally I like to stay in hotels where I can walk to restaurants and shopping. Other than that, it was fabulous. Also, net time we will definitely book their one Michelin star restaurant. Also I did not realize until we got there that this is a Relais & Chateaux property. Every detail of your stay is thought out and fabulous! I forgot to mention the breakfasts, which are included, were the bomb. Everything was delicious and plentiful. My favorite detail was the decorations they would put on top of the cup of cappuccino!

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful and spacious property. First class attention to all details of the stay.

Location

Beautiful views. Wish it were closer to town though

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel AlmaLusa Baixa/Chiado

Lisbon

The location of this hotel is its finest attribute. This hotel is within walking distance to a ton of restaurants, outdoor cafes, shopping, the waterfront, the tram.......pretty much everything! The rooms were beautiful. My only issue is the rooms were on the small side but other than that, this is a lovely hotel. The staff and concierge were very helpful in finding restaurants or anything we needed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Fabulous!!! It is so close to many attractions and we really did not have to get in a cab to go where we wanted to go. We walked everywhere from this hotel

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lisbon Marriott Hotel

Lisbon

Perfect for our purpose. We had one last night in Lisbon and wanted to be super close to the airport to catch a 5 am flight in the morning. The only thing that just meh, was the restaurant. That is typical of Marriotts however. Anyway, this hotel was perfect if you need a place close to the airport and want a good night sleep.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to airport

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Garajau Nature Reserve: Kayaking, Snorkeling & Cliff Diving

Portugal

The description of this made it sound like we were going somewhere remote. It actually started from a hotel water front. This was fine with us however because our hotel did not have this option. This was a fun activity and my first time kayaking. The guide was great and I felt safe. Going out was easy because we were with the current. Save you energy for the way back against the current. The water was a little too rough to snorkel at the half way point (which was a more remote location)so we snorkeled close to the hotel when we returned. It was still lovely and the guide was very smart to be safe.

Quality of Experience

Super fun, out in nature

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Luis was great and entertaining and he kept us safe

Transport

Driver who picked us up and dropped us off was great

Introducing Funchal - Food & Cultural Tour

Portugal

We had only a few days in Madeira and this tour really hit all the food and cultural highlights. It was a small group and a nice way to meet tourists from all over the world. It is essentially a walking tour throughout Funchal with several stops at restaurants and cafes along the way. The quality of the food was great. Ana Luisa, our guide was very welcoming, knowledgable and fun. She was multi lingual also able to switch from English to German to Spanish. Don't eat much before you go on this tour because you will be absolutely full by the end!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sintra Heritage Hike: Hidden Secrets

Portugal

Sintra is a must see if you are in Lisbon. The car ride was only 35-40 minutes. You could do the bus tour to get up to the palace and the fortress but hiking was much more enjoyable and we really had great weather. The line to get into the palace was insanely long/crowded so we opted not to go inside. People were packed in like sardines. It was still well worth the trip to see everything from the outside however. Bernardo was knowledgable and guided everywhere so we didn't get lost. Hiking the stairs up to the fortress was a little scary. Once you make it to the top, the stairs back down are way less scary. People without guides didn't know there was a back staircase to get back down. Our guide was very helpful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tuk-Tuk Tour

Portugal

This was a fabulous way to get around Lisbon. If you haven't been on a Tuk Tuk tour, it is essentially being driven around on a golf cart type vehicle. This is the perfect way to get around Lisbon to see the highlights. I love walking but Lisbon is pretty spread out and very hilly. Ines was our tour guide and was so friendly and knowledgable. I know the tram (cable car) is famous and really cool but I have to say it was super crowded, which doesn't seem like a good idea during COVID times. The Tuk tuk tour was still ourdoors/open air but it was just the three of us and our driver. They essentially followed the same route as the tram tour. This trip was definitely worth doing and I would recommend it!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ines was great!

Transport

Loved the Tuk Tuk. It is perfect for the narrow and bumpy roads of Lisbon !

Private Transfer {{start_location}} to {{end_location}}, Guided Visit of Coimbra

Portugal

This was a nice way to get from Porto to Lisbon and squeeze in a day trip to Coimbra too. The only glitch we had was the driver didn't really know the game plan as to where we should be dropped off and he didn't speak much English, which would have been ok, we were just thrown off because most of the other drivers were able to communicate well. Anyway, that was the only hiccup. Fabiana was a great tour guide and she also went out of her way to make sure we got reconnected with our driver as the tour was done. Coimbra is a university city and home to the country's most prestigious university. It was a nice bonus that Fabiana was a graduate of that University and she also is returning in the fall for her Master's degree. Coimbra is another picturesque city in Portugal! What is not to love! Fabiana was multi lingual (Portuguese, Spanish, English and I'm sure other languages). She was very knowledgeable! Thanks for the great tour!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fabiana receives 5 stars, the driver receives 3 for not knowing where we were supposed to go and not reaching out to the company for information.

Transport

The drive was fine but as stated above, it is important that the driver be sure about where to drop tourists off in Coimbra. He just dropped us off at a random gate and it was really hard to figure out where to go from there.

Hiking & Cultural Excursion in Peneda-Gerês National Park

Porto

This was a lovely trip to add on to a City stay. Having a day trip to a national park day trip to be outside with nature was a nice contrast to restaurants, tours and shopping. Carlos was a great guide. He was very knowledgable about nature. Everything about the day went smoothly, including the picnic, which was a nice touch. Carlos found out we had never been to Spain, so he took a little extra time to drive over the border, so we could say we have been to Spain!

Quality of Experience

Hiking and being outdoors with nature. The hike was challenging enough but not overly so.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Carlos is just a very nice likeable and knowlegable guide!

Transport

Private Guided Visit of Porto

Porto

Tommy Hogg reached out two days before the tour via What's app just to connect. He was easy to find at our meeting point because we were already connected on What's app. He was knowledgable and entertaining. He asked us a lot of questions to get us engaged with the subject matter and the tour. At the end of the tour, he helped us with directions for our next stop, a restaurant which was close by. I would highly recommend Tommy and the tour!!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Porto Foodie Experience

Porto

We loved Sergio our tour guide. He was friendly, knowledgable and entertaining. It was a nice format so that we were able to chat with the other people in the small group. The wines we had were really good. My only criticism is that the food was just ok. The cheese and the sardine courses were good. The desserts/food they paired with the port were just meh. Some of the other courses, I plain old can't remember because they weren't memorable. In summary, the tour guide was great, the wine and port, really good and the food could be improved.

Quality of Experience

Food

Please improve the food that is paired with the port at the end.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sergio was funny, entertaining and knowledgable.

I could not have planned nor created a better experience. Tiago knew exactly what we wanted and planned everything to a perfect T. He was extremely helpful and was easily accessible at any time. Airport pickup was easy, all our scheduled accommodations were quick and easy to access. Our guide Joel was awesome and knowledgeable with the history and any questions we had. It is tough to share a favorite experience because it was all fantastic! Tiago and Joel have become lifetime friends and Portugal is now a place close to our hearts. Joel took the time to cater every experience as our guide in the city to what we wanted and was easily adaptable to changes. Our next trip we will be seeking Joel and Tiago to discuss Futbol and Super Bock!! We will be back. Kim Kim is a great connection and I’m more than happy with this experience. Tiago we will be back and remember surfing in Malibu, oh yeah!

We did a friends trip to Portugal with 14ppl. We had an amazing time. Everyone in our group thoroughly enjoyed it. Tiago was the best from planning our trip to making sure we had smooth and enjoyable experience in Portugal. He made sure on daily basis how our trip was going and if there were any adjustments even needed while we were there. There were some hiccups due to Mother Nature but Tiago informed us and help us plan alternate to our itinerary. Our driver Luis who was there majority of our trip was amazing and knowledgeable of the country. Dioego who gave us a day tour of Lisbon was very knowledgeable and helped us along the way with buying pastry and communicating with the locals. Can not stress enough how much we enjoyed our trip because we decided to use Kim Kim to plan our trip. I would recommend to anyone and will use their services in future.

Activity Reviews

Wine Estate Visit in the Douro Valley

Portugal

Beautiful property with magnificent view of the Douro valley

Quality of Experience

Guided Tour of Lisbon

Lisbon

Dioego was very knowledgeable and a great tour guide. Because of the heat we were little tired of walking but the tour guide made sure we took breaks and went on slower pace when needed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rabelo Boat Tour

Portugal

Boat tour was nice with amazing views of the region

Quality of Experience

Port Wine Tasting Tour

Porto

Person giving a tour was very knowledgeable and interesting

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Porto (Half-Day Guided Walking Tour)

Porto

Beautiful city and our guide was really good

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Luis an amazing driver

KimKim made planning our trip to Portugal fun, personal, and customizable. Our local specialist, Karin, was incredibly thoughtful and attentive a long the way - including through the planning process and logistics on the ground. We cannot sing her praises enough!

We really enjoyed our time in Portugal! The guides were great! Paola was wonderful on the Lisbon Culinary Experience tour. She shared lots of local info and had a great sense of humor. Alex was an excellent guide for our guided tour of the city. He made a wonderful adjustment to the tour based on the starting point at our hotel and took good care of us in the heat. It’s so nice to see a city through the eyes of a local. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Paolo on our day-long excursion to Sintra, Cascais, and Estoril. Such an amazing area! The delicious food! The sights! The history! He also took good care of us in the unusual heat. Our water expeditions in Lagos didn’t work as expected, but the wind does not respect schedules. We enjoyed the one we were able go on, even with the change of itinerary. Martin had so much to share about Evora and the Alentejo region! He had to adjust his tour plan because we had already visited one of the places, but he did that quite smoothly. Somehow, the wine-tasting portion of the Jeep tour was left off the schedule, but learning about cork was fascinating. We loved the visit to olive oil farm and lunch with the owners! In Coimbra, Gil was a delightful guide. I will repeat how nice it is to hear about an area through from a local.
Our lodgings were entirely sufficient. They were clean, comfortable, safe, and centrally located. We were able to walk to restaurants and sights. The people at the front desks were very friendly and extremely helpful. They always offered restaurant suggestions and directions. The man at the Casual Belle Epoque in Lisbon gave us advice that saved us many, many steps up and down hills! The beach below the Carvi Beach Hotel in Lagos is a wonderful place to explore at low tide. The Noble House in Evora is in an amazing medieval house. The Oslo Hotel in Coimbra has a wonderful rooftop terrace that has a wonderful view of the University of Coimbra. It was lovely at sunset.
The private transfers made travel between cities so easy! It was a wonderful splurge. The only place we had any issue was finding our driver at the Lisbon airport the first morning. But we did finally find him.
When we had questions, the kimkim staff was very responsive. We only started planning the trip about 5 weeks before our departure date. Marina was easy to work with and very responsive to our interests and our budget. We would definitely recommend her and kimkim to other travelers.

Activity Reviews

Guided Visit of Historic Coimbra

Portugal

Excursion to Alentejo - Jeep Safari Through a Cork Fork & Visit to an Olive Oil Estate

Lisbon

The cork part was fascinating and the trip to the small olive oil farm was wonderful!

Guided Visit of Évora

Portugal

Catamaran Cruise to Benagil & Carvoeiro w/Snorkeling & SUP

Portugal

Due to the wind and rough water, we didn’t get to Benagil. But the captain kept us safe and comfortable and took us to an alternate site to play in the water.

Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Portugal

Get to Know Lisbon with a Local

Lisbon

Lisbon Foodie Experience

Lisbon

I loved hearing the stories behind the local dishes.

Tiago was absolutely perfect. He built us a journey that will last a lifetime. Portugal is beautiful all over, the destinations, food, shopping, people especially… with his road book and suggestions we saw some amazing spots we would have never seen if planning ourselves so it was all that much better. The hotels he set us up with too were so stylish and fun as well, and were carefully positioned to take advantage of our surroundings on any given day…he really does have such a wealth of knowledge…and for that we are so grateful for him sharing it and pointing us in the right direction, that and picking us up at the airport! Can’t recommend him enough!

Our local specialist was amazing and accommodated all our requests. He was very helpful and made sure that we felt safe and comfortable throughout our trip
Our local guides Joao in Lisbon and Fernanda in Porto were very knowledgeable and made our tours thoroughly enjoyable. The attention to our personal preferences were self evident.
The cooking classes in Lisbon and Porto were absolutely great and we enjoyed them very much-one featuring a typical Portuguese dinner and the other learning to make Portuguese tarts.
I would highly recommend this trip and Tiago and the local guides

Marina was absolutely fantastic to work with. The planning before the trip was great; she was very attentive of what we were looking for and the changes we made to the itinerary and hotel accommodations. She was very helpful and even during our trip when we had questions or needed something she was available and willing to assist. I cannot recommend Marina enough.

Hotel Reviews

Porto A.S. 1829

Porto

Really nice hotel in the perfect location. Only downside was the shower in the room (not in the bathroom), but that was fine and we were aware of this before we booked.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

CoolRooms Palacio de Villapanés

Seville

Best hotel of the trip. Staff was amazing, room was amazing, and location was great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dear Hotel Madrid

Madrid

The hotel was fine - nothing special but in a good location and the room was clean. For a hotel in the center of Madrid, it was good. I would’ve given it 5 stars if the room had a balcony or a sitting area in the room - we were forced to sit on the bed. But other than that it was great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Front desk staff was nice but not overly helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hiking & Cultural Excursion in Peneda-Gerês National Park

Porto

Fun day but our guide wasn’t the best. He was fairly lackadaisical and because the vehicle had issues we arrived back to Porto an hour late. It was a fun day, but could’ve been better. Also, the weather was extremely hot on this day so we think that may be why we didn’t do any real hiking, which is what we were expecting, and instead spent the day in the river. (Which was fun, we were just hoping for more hiking)

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Guided Visit of Porto

Porto

Sara was a great guide and we loved Porto.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Train Seville to Córdoba, Guided Visit of Córdoba, Train Córdoba to Seville

Seville

Best tour guides and city of the trip. We loved Cordoba and everything about our guises.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Guided Visit of Seville

Seville

Our guide, Raul, was good but not great. Spent too much time in museum’s/palaces that we weren’t interested in. Also he talked nonstop the entire time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Visit of Toledo

Portugal

Carlos was fantastic as a guide. And Toledo was an incredible city - highly recommend as a day trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Walking Madrid’s Old Town

Madrid

Linda was great.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We loved this trip. Our favorite stop was Douro Valley and Porto. The Quinta in Douro was amazing so beautiful and homey. Only issue was our map tried to take us up the backroad into the vineyard which was very scary on the small single lane, rocky road. The suggestions in the guidebook were great and made it very easy to check off the main tourist attractions in all of the smaller towns where we only had a night to visit.

Tiago was also great and answered all my questions and handled my covid anxiety before the trip very well! When the airline lost our baggage he even tried to help track it down for us and checked in with us multiple times during our trip. Overall a great experience.

Everything was planned well and met our expectations. Great support while we were in Portugal. Would highly recommend.

Hotel Reviews

Carvi Beach Hotel

Lagos

Amazing restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Porto Charming Hotel

Porto

Wonderful staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Noble House

Evora

Beautiful hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Be Poet Baixa Hotel

Lisbon

Wonderful staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Catamaran Trip to Benagil Caves

Portugal

So beautiful.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Visit of Évora

Portugal

Not a great time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Portugal

Amazing day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lisbon Fado Dinner Experience

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Food

Get to Know Lisbon with a Local

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guided Visit of Historic Coimbra

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Transfer {{start_location}} to {{end_location}} via Coimbra

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Excursion to Viana do Castelo

Porto

Awesome time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Foodie Experience in Porto

Porto

Good time. Knowledgeable tour guide.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Guided Visit of Porto

Porto

It was fine.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Day Excursion to Douro Valley: Wine Tasting & River Cruise

Porto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marina was extremely helpful throughout the entire process of booking the trip, to answering questions during our trip and ensuring that any problems were promptly addressed. She helped me plan an unforgettable trip for my children and I. Some of the highlights were the culinary experiences in Barcelona and Lisbon , Montserrat, day trip to Fatima, Nazare & Obidos, olive oil estate, & trip to Douro Valley. We had amazing guides at each stop. If you’re planning a trip to Spain or Portugal, you must give Marina a call. Thank you, Marina!

Bea was supportive, accommodating and patient throughout our planning process and always cheerfully and promptly responded to our many questions and requests. We had an unexpected incident during the trip with one of transportation providers, and she was immediately available to support us. After the trip, she continued to follow up and provide updates regarding the incident. We enjoyed the trip, and I would recommend her and her agency without reservation to anyone planning on making a trip to Spain or Portugal in the future.

This was our first experience with KimKim.. Our local specialist Marta was superb! She was knowledgeable and utterly responsive, even on a Sunday afternoon when we contacted her because our flight to Lisbon was delayed. She also reached out to us during our time in Lisbon to ensure things were going well, something we very much appreciated.

We were grateful for Marta's recommendation of an outstandingly beautiful and relaxing Lisbon hotel (Torel Palace), her close coordination of many activities, and arrangements for an incredible guide/driver, Marta Sophia George David, for two amazing days of out-of-Lisbon tours--one to Obidos, Fatima, and seaside towns and the other to Sintra, Cascais, and Belem.

A word about our guide/driver: we cannot compliment her enough! A former journalist, Marta David has encyclopedic knowledge tempered by deep love of Portugal and the ability to speak to history and current events with deep insight. Her contextual passion touched our souls in an soul-expanding way. She also knew where to find the best gelato shops!

Based on our experience, we will use KimKim again and recommend it to others.

Hotel Review

Torel Palace

Lisbon

Torel Palace is an accessible retreat in the midst of Lisbon.

Authenticity & Character

Every part of this property is gorgeous! Beyond charming . . .

Location

The fact that we really could walk to various neighborhoods but nevertheless could retreat from the busyness in an extraordinarily beautiful place with some of the best views in the city!

Staff

So pleasant, helpful, caring, and accommodating!!!!!

Cleanliness & Comfort

The bathroom was a bit cramped, but then what can you expect in a 1902 palace?

Activity Reviews

Group Excursion to Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Lisbon

Sintra is a must-visit. The castle in Old Sintra is incredible--a great self-tour. Our guide took us to a second palace/garden to tour in Sintra (not Pena Palace). It was breathtaking, but physically very, very challenging with steep, uneven cobblestone "steps" (or drop-offs). Lunch was at a local restaurant that was delightful! We loved visiting the westernmost point in mainland Europe; thought Cascais was interesting but little more than an overrated "mall" with a good gelato shop; did an Estoril drive-by, and were very grateful for an add-on, half-an-hour stop in Belem.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Excursion to Fatima

Lisbon

Our guide Marta was exceptional.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cooking Class with Market Visit

Lisbon

A fun morning with an interesting an eclectic group!

Quality of Experience

A good experience, It would have been better if we'd been given copies (or received by email) the recipes we prepared.

Food

The lunch we prepared was great!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The cooking teacher was personable and a good cook--but she didn't offer many explanations about what she was doing or why,

Lisbon Fado Dinner Experience

Portugal

Great music; too lengthy an experience.

Quality of Experience

Music was great! Timing was slow. Food was okay but not great. Probably not the experience for first-time fado attendees.

Food

Cod (the specialty of the house) has bones and gristle in it.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our waiter literally disappeared!

Transport

Difficult to get to for newcomers to Lisbon. We tried to walk from the Torel Palace and ended up looking for a cab after getting hopelessly lost.

Guided Tuk-Tuk Tour

Portugal

A good overview.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pick-up at the hotel (again, this was our first time in Lisbon).

Sunset Sailing Cruise

Lisbon

Interesting and informative--but the cruise was crowded, uncomfortable, and cold.

Quality of Experience

The traditional boat was way too crowded!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

That's just it: we had been in Lisbon for our first time for less than two hours before the cruise began, and finding transportation (cab) back to our hotel after the cruise was difficult.

Tiago and Joël expertly planned a most memorable trip to Lisbon and north. Tiago communicated with us immediately when we were in the planning stages and meet us the first day to settle us in and suggest a site seeing route appropriate for the jet lagged. For two days Joël shepherded is throughout old Lisbon, and a fun day to Cascais and Sintra. We experienced Lisbon and the Atlantic Coasts that we would not have seen by ourselves. Plus he introduced us to the Portuguese seafood and fish cuisine.

Once we rented a car, the itinerary develops for ids was varied and exciting; the accommodations were perfect.

Highlights: at the risk of listing them all, Douro Valley, Porto, Tomar, and Évora and the sites at those locations too my list.

We had a terrific experience through KimKim and we will recommend to others and hopefully take another trip with you soon.

Our guide who took us up the Duora Valley and recommended the lunch venue was terrific, so much so that we treated him to join us for lunch. Also, the wine tasting in the valley was terrific as well, as we bought a case of wine there.

Special thanks to Beatrice who made Kimkim the terrific company that it is. She was very easy to reach if we had questions, she planned a trip that we will never forget. We told her we had 12 days and she planned them perfectly, she is so knowledgeable. We will recommend Kimkim and tell our friends to ask for Beatrice.

Hotel Review

Flores Boutique Hotel

Porto

The crew that work there are very knowledgeable and helpful. Great location for restaurants and sites to visit. The buffet was fresh and generous. The room was good size and was accommodating.

Tips for future travelers

I did not pick or look up any hotels that Beatrice suggested as I trusted her choices and we were rewarded with excellent accommodations.

Authenticity & Character

Everything

Location

Center city for convenience

Staff

Knowledgeable and easy to talk to.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nice count on sheets and comforters.

Activity Review

Day Excursion to Douro Valley: Wine Tasting & River Cruise

Porto

Our tour was outstanding!! The River tour was very interesting and felt very privileged to be able to see the wonders of the area. The Port winery that our guide set us up with was amazing. Tour of vineyard and home of wine makers was fun. The restaurant that our guide took us to we had a chef that was outstanding. A very special remembered day.

Quality of Experience

All day trips were well planned into day.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledgeable guides

Transport

Knew area and where they were to take us!

We had the absolute best trip! Tiago was so helpful in guiding us, with both taking suggestions and giving us lots of great ideas and feedback to make our trip successful and fun. We saw so much of the country and enjoyed every second of it.